Everyone enjoys a fitting reply; it is wonderful to say the right thing at the right time!
Parallel translations
- WEB Joy comes to a man with the reply of his mouth. How good is a word at the right time!
- KJV A man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!
- BSB A man takes joy in a fitting reply—and how good is a timely word!
- NKJV A man has joy by the answer of his mouth, And a word spoken in due season, how good it is!
- NASB A person has joy in an apt answer, And how delightful is a timely word!
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
There is deep joy in giving a fitting answer, and a timely word is a great good. It matters because well-chosen, well-timed speech blesses both speaker and hearer.
Overview
The proverb celebrates the gladness of speaking the right word at the right moment. Apt speech is a gift that encourages, instructs, and heals (cf. Proverbs 25:11). This points to the perfect timing and grace of Christ's words, and calls believers to seasoned, gracious speech (Colossians 4:6).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Isa 50:4The Lord Yahweh has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with words him who is weary. He wakens morning by morning, he wakens my ear to hear as those who are taught.
- Prov 25:11–12A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.
- Eph 4:29Let no corrupt speech proceed out of your mouth, but only what is good for building others up as the need may be, that it may give grace to those who hear.
- Prov 16:13Righteous lips are the delight of kings. They value one who speaks the truth.
- Prov 12:14A man shall be satisfied with good by the fruit of his mouth. The work of a man’s hands shall be rewarded to him.
- Prov 24:26An honest answer is like a kiss on the lips.
- Eccl 3:1For everything there is a season, and a time for every purpose under heaven:
- 1 Sam 25:32–33David said to Abigail, “Blessed is Yahweh, the God of Israel, who sent you today to meet me!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Wisdom personified, with God before creation and the agent of all things, anticipates Christ 'in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom' — the wisdom of God made flesh.
How Proverbs 15:23 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.